


Third time's the charm

by Haru D Nae (Anaelita)



Series: Around the Grand Line [19]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Kiss, Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Not Ashamed, I'm serious I don't know where that came from, M/M, Pre-Canon, Talking, Teenagers sailing with the Pirate King, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Underage Drinking, loads of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 05:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11914617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anaelita/pseuds/Haru%20D%20Nae
Summary: About twelve hours in company of our two favorite cabin boys.The day started like usual but things went weird from then on... Blushing ensues !Alternate title : "Three times Buggy should have been mad at Shanks but he just couldn't, and still can't explain why"





	1. The surprising first time

It started as an usual chore day... Laundry before lunch, deck cleaning afterwards.

Shanks and Buggy are exhausted by the intense scrubbing, but pretty glad they got to finish early, so they decide to lounge below deck. They found a secluded spot away from the busy pirates preparing to get ashore, with just enough light filtering between the wooden planks, and they're laying on the floor, facing opposite sides but close by, stretching their sore muscles.

"Wow, temperature's much better here", relishes Buggy, "I really wish we'd stop passing by summer islands, and find cooler temperatures."

"I don't mind either way, as long as the islands are full of adventures..."

"Or treasure !"

"Probably both."

"Yeah, but still, adventure on a spring or autumn island..."

"What about winter islands ?"

"Too cold."

Shanks shifts on his side, fully facing Buggy. "You don't like extreme temperatures, I get it, but what if the best treasure is in the most unreachable places ?"

Buggy hums. "Hadn't thought o' that."

"See, you just have to be equipped but I bet you'd find the coolest treasures ever."

"I'll find more than you and I'll be the richest man in the world !"

Shanks chuckles, "Probably. But I'll be known as a great pirate too !"

Then Buggy smiles and holds a finger to point at Shanks, "Don't you dare have a higher bounty than me, or I'll come and get it to be even richer and even more famous !"

Shanks frankly laughs at that, _of course Buggy would make a competition out of it_.

[*]

Buggy still beams as he adds, "I'm serious, I'll chase you all around the Grand Line if you get all the riches."

His laugh fit barely dimmed, the redhead asks, "Would you ?"

"Of course ! I tell ya, I'll be a greater pirate than you, and you're so loud and obnoxious, I bet I won't even have to search for long before I find you."

"That's an option", Shanks snorts.

"What will you do then ?"

"I'll invite you for a drink."

"But we'll be rivals !"

"So what ? We're nakama, too."

Buggy blushes. "Yeah..."

"What ?"

"Nothing, it's just weird, to think we may be enemies one day... I..." The younger teen sighs, "I don't wanna fight you."

Shanks snorts, "What do you mean ? We fight _every_ day."

"Y-Yeah, but... not for real, I don't wanna harm you for good."

The redhead hums. "We won't have to. There's no rule, we're pirates after all."

Buggy chuckles, "True. A nakama really is for life."

Now it's Shanks's turn to blush, "Yeah... it's nice to know we'll still be here for each other."

The blue-haired cabin boy turns his head to face Shanks. "What's with that face ?"

Shanks's blush intensifies and almost matches his hair. "N-Nothing. I just... I'm glad. To have you."

Buggy's eyes widen just a bit and he snorts, "Okay, enough."

"Say, Buggy ?"

"What ?"

Shanks moves forward just enough to place a chaste upside-down kiss on Buggy's lips, and he goes back to his position, not daring to look at his bunkmate. _He acted on impulse and didn't really think about the consequences._

Buggy blinks once, _w-what was that_ _?_ He blinks twice and, blushing furiously, mutters, "Stupid redhead, what was that for ?"

"Sorry, I just wanted to."

Buggy huffs – he's not going to let Shanks have his ways with him, he'll be damned if he's impaired in any way – and retorts, "No fair, you had me by surprise."

"What ?"

The answer comes out as a reflex, "I demand compensation."

Shanks blinks once, _what was that ?_ He blinks twice, "Y-you want to-"

"Oh, shut up", Buggy interrupts – _shut up before I change my mind_ –, and moves forward to meet the redhead's mouth again. He stays just a few seconds more than before, enough to register the sensation as weird, wet, warm, and strangely pleasing.

Shanks is grinning like a madman by the time Buggy went back to laying on his back.

"What ?"

"Nothing."

"Stupid redhead."

"Yeah, right."

"We're never doing that again."

Shanks pouts.

"Ever."

Shanks whines.

"I'll kill you."

Shanks sighs.

"And I'll still get a higher bounty than you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [*] at this point of the chapter [this picture](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b8/05/ce/b805ceaa601c99d0b87de490a817718c.jpg) matches the text, I just love it and if anyone knows the artist I'd gladly give them credit, buy them a coffee and/or a full-size print of this one <3
> 
> Also, a big thanks to [PrimalMXY](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrimalMXY) who drew this fantastic artwork !


	2. The unfuriating second time

At the end of the evening when everyone comes back from restocking supplies ashore, Roger declares they're having a party night for one of the crew's birthday.

That means a huge feast and jugs of beer galore, among other stronger beverages, and for once the two cabin boys aren't really supervised as to their alcohol consumption. Rayleigh trusts they learned their lesson from their hangover and won't drink too much... and if they do, they know the consequences and will deal with it as true pirates do.

Shanks is sipping from a large jug of beer almost the size of his head, and Buggy's laughing at him, "Come on, you're taking your time, gimme some, greedy bastard !"

Swallowing a large gulp, the redhead answers, "But it's so good ! And you had your share, we're taking turns, remember ? So we don't get _too_ drunk ?"

Buggy whines, "You're no fun ! I'll go grab something to eat."

"Wait, I'll come with you." Shanks wastes no time in leaving his place, not forgetting to bring the jug along.

"You're a drunkard", his friend taunts him.

"Maybe", Shanks pokes his tongue out.

Reaching the main table where the more or less full plates are disposed, Buggy detaches a hand to grab something from afar, not bothering about waiting in line behind his crewmates.

"Sneaky."

"I'm hungry", Buggy deadpans.

Shanks pouts, "I can't do that."

Buggy rolls his eyes. "No, but I can do it for you, idiot. Hold this one", he says just as a full plate comes back, held by a flying hand.

Shanks beams, "Neat !"

Buggy snorts, "You're suck a dork", and retrieves a second plate.

"Wanna go back to where we were ?", Shanks offers.

"Nah, I prefer somewhere calm to eat, stern of the ship's better."

"Alright by me", the redhead smiles before leading the way.

They're so hungry they forget to talk, devouring whatever the cook prepared, watching at the sea and hearing the rowdy crew having a great time not so far.

Buggy piles up their licked-clean plates beside him, making a mental note to bring them back to the galley later, and turns around to face a smiling Shanks, propped up against a mast, gaze lost in the sea.

The redhead turns to his friend, "Phew, now I wanna drink some more."

"Stupid redhead. We can still finish the jug but we're not getting drunk tonight, tomorrow there's bunk cleaning and I don't wanna feel bad like the other time. Never _ever_."

"Alright, alright, just this jug. Since when are you more reasonable than me ?"

Buggy snorts, "Duh, since the day I was born ?"

Shanks makes a face, "Oh come on, that's mean !"

"Nah, realistic." Buggy clenches his eyes and sticks his tongue out.

The redhead pouts, trying to conceal his face behind the large jug while he drinks from it.

Buggy smiles fondly. _Shanks is kinda cute like th- Wait, where did that come from ?_ He shakes his head, frowning.

"What ?"

"N-nothing. Just... you know, don't drink too much is all", the young cabin boy shrugs.

Shanks gently elbows Buggy's side, "Hey, thanks for taking care of me."

The younger teen blushes. "Yeah, whatever."

"I mean that", the older one insists.

Buggy sighs. "Don't mention it, okay ?"

Shanks hums, and slides to the side to get closer to Buggy.

The blue-haired boy notices but doesn't complain or move whatsoever.

After a good while, Shanks breaks the silence, "I would chase you all around the Grand Line too... that is, if you had a higher bounty than me."

Buggy chuckles, "You'd do that just to bother me, admit it."

"Maybe", the redhead answers with a lopsided smile.

Buggy turns to Shanks and realizes at once how close they are, hips and elbows touching and the other's face kinda close, _just a bit_ _too close_...

Shanks looks to the side and amends, "Sorry, I just really like to spend time with you."

Buggy lifts an eyebrow, "Are you apologizing for being your usual annoying self ?"

"Never. But I don't want to bother you either."

"Hey, it's alright." Buggy sighs, "I'm here."

Shanks turns to his friend and kisses him, and he feels butterflies in his stomach and doesn't dare to move once his lips touch Buggy's.

The younger teen blushes and stills, caught by surprise once more, and decidedly not too fond of not being warned beforehand. Then he quickly thinks, and finds that he should not be the only one taken aback and flustered. So he pulls back just a little, breaking contact to imply the end of the kiss, then he moves forward and kisses Shanks again, harder this time.

Shanks's breath catches in his throat, which makes Buggy smile against the kiss, but dares slipping his hand on Buggy's back and just hold him close.

Buggy draws back, a little out of breath, and touches Shanks's arm with the tip of his fingers. "I told you, never again", he grumbles.

"Then why did you-"

"Never", the blue-haired teen stubbornly insists despite his blush, not wanting to elaborate about his reasons, and pushes Shanks's hand away.

Shanks sighs. "Okay."

Buggy gets up and holds his hand out to help the other up. "C'mon, let's join the others."


	3. The sweet third time

After one too many drinks, Shanks starts to feel bad so he decides to go on a walk down the nearby beach, alone. He can't stop thinking about kissing Buggy. It just felt so right, and so... soothing. Like something he wanted and he missed for so long before-

"Oi, Shanks !"

The redhead dizzily turns around and recognizes Buggy walking in his direction.

"What are you doing ?"

"Walking", he slurs.

"Yeah, but, why would you go alone ?"

"I j-just, y'know..."

"Oh great, you're drunk and you're gonna puke", Buggy rolls his eyes.

Shanks manages a half-hearted "Maybe not", before he falls to his knees and starts hurling on the sand.

Buggy catches the straw hat just before it reaches the ground and crouches beside his older friend. "Stupid redhead."

Shanks manages a single "Sorry" between gags.

"Stupid redhead, getting drunk like that. You always get us into trouble. I bet you'll get us killed someday." Buggy shakes his head and amends, "Just... just don't be _too_ stupid, okay ?" He holds Shanks's hair – _they look beautiful in the moonlight, that's odd_ – so he doesn't puke on them and gently pats the redhead's back, waiting for his ordeal to end.

The older teen regains his composure after a while, scrambles to the sea to reach the washing waves and clean his face, drenching his clothes in the process.

"Tsk. You're gonna get a cold", scolds Buggy from a few feet away – no way he's getting near Shanks, he knows all too well how powerful the sea is against Devil Fruit users.

"Nope, summer islands are the best", retorts an apparently recovered Shanks.

"Still, we should get to sleep now", he presses.

But the redhead has other plans. "Nah, I'm good here."

Buggy lifts an eyebrow, "Yeah ? Well I'll tell the crew you've been drinking too much and puking all over the beach."

Shanks pouts, "No fair !"

"Come on, then. You're clean now, we can go back to the ship", Buggy motions to the Oro Jackson.

"Party-pooper."

"Stubborn idiot."

"Brat."

"Geezer."

"Hey I'm only five months older than you !"

"Still."

Shanks furiously pouts.

"C'mon, I wanna go to bed."

Shanks stills and doesn't try to argue anymore. The prospect of a warm bed – and possibly not alone – sounds more appealing than a lonely swim.

Buggy's surprised but doesn't complain, instead dragging his bunkmate along as soon as he's out of the water.

They reach the Oro Jackson after a short walk, strolling past drunk crewmembers and idly answering that Shanks wanted to go for a night swim to justify his soaked clothes.

Shanks stops by the bathroom to remove his clothes, dry his hair and roll himself in a large towel. Thus, he avoids unnecessary walks at this late hour, picking something clean to wear when he's back in his bunk.

Buggy already removed half of his clothing and is sat on his bed, dimming the light from the oil lamp.

"You gonna read tonight ?"

"Nah, 'm sleepy"

"So am I", Shanks yawns.

Buggy snorts and installs himself in his own bed.

Shanks blinks, wondering if he could, for once, ask for permission instead of sneaking in Buggy's bed while he sleeps.

"What ?"

"D'you mind if I-uh... I mean..." He sighs.

Buggy rolls his eyes. "Stupid redhead." Then he slides back just enough so his back is against the wooden wall behind him, therefore leaving just enough space for Shanks to fit against him.

Shanks smiles but doesn't comment, instead slides inside a loose pair of pants for the night and subsequently into Buggy's bed, snuggling close to his friend. And since asking seems to work wonders, he tries his luck, "Can I kiss you ?"

Buggy ducks his head a little. "Don't think that because you ask, you get to do whatever you want."

"I know."

Then he lifts his head and looks at Shanks from under, half scowling to hide the blush grazing his cheeks, and says, "But just this once you can."

The redhead softly smiles and ducks his head, his hand helping Buggy's chin up to meet his lips. He closes his eyes at the contact, enjoying the warmth from the body beneath his.

Buggy breaks the kiss after a moment lost in time, blushing furiously and hiding his face between his arms and Shanks's chest. "Last time, I swear", he mumbles.

"Okay", the redhead whispers, before he sets the oil lamp off.

Buggy sighs and relaxes a bit against Shanks, but the redhead can still distantly feel a quick heartbeat against his own.

He runs a hand through the younger teen's blue hair, smiling at the occasional shiver, but careful not to be too insistent.

Just when he thinks Buggy's falling asleep, he hears him ask, "Say, Shanks ?"

"Hmm ?"

"I'm glad you're here, too."

Shanks smiles, tightening his arms around Buggy and breathing in the scent of his hair – the salt of the sea, the fresh of the soap, and something else that has him hooked right away. He sighs, feeling blessed to have such a friend, a nakama... and maybe more. Honestly, he doesn't care, as long as they're together.

And Buggy will never admit it, but he kinda wonders now... what _else_ is there, other than friend and nakama ?


End file.
